[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Cramster, DropBox and Mint) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

As hipsters everywhere already know, thrift stores are great places to score awesome vintage t-shirts — but did you know only about 5% of the t-shirts donated to stores like the Salvation Army and Goodwill actually get sold in the U.S.? The majority of clothes donated are purchased at ridiculously low prices and shipped off to developing countries around the world, where they are then sold by local businesses.

And that’s where Project Repat steps in. Volunteers for Project Repat scour shops in these developing countries, like Tanzania, to find the best shirts and bring them back to the United States. Project Repat then washes the shirts twice, stamps them with their logo, and sells them on their website. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like LiveProfile, Foodily and Cramster) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

From important class papers and projects, to priceless photo memories, to my entire iTunes library, my laptop pretty much has my entire life on it. But sometimes I need something from my computer and don’t have it with me (like class assignments), and constantly having to load files onto a flash drive or remembering to email them to myself can get annoying.

Dropbox solves that problem by allowing you to access your files from anywhere! Dropbox is fully compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux operating systems, meaning that even files saved on your MacBook can be accessed on a PC. What’s more, your Dropbox files are always available via the secure, password-protected website. You can also access Dropbox via your smartphone — it’s compatible with iPhone, Blackberry and Android  — as well as iPad.

And the best part? You don’t even have to do anything! Once you install the program, Dropbox continuously keeps the folders updated every time you make a change or update for you, so you can rest easy knowing your files will be available for you whenever and wherever you need them. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Fellow Up, Swap.com and LiveProfile) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

I’ve always been a food lover, but it wasn’t until I moved out on my own that I really developed a fondness for cooking. I’m still only a beginner, so I love trying out new recipes to practice my technique. Lucky for be, the internet is a wealth of information and I’ve discovered tons of great recipe sites on the web — but recently, I discovered one that puts all the others to shame: Foodily.

Foodily (the “-ily” stands for “I love you”) is, according to the site, the largest recipe network on the web. You can access all these recipes by searching for recipes themselves or simply by typing in certain ingredients you like (and/or excluding ingredients you don’t like). From there, Foodily will pull recipes from food blogs and food sites like FoodNetwork.com, FineCooking.com, and Martha Stewart and display them in a side-by-side gallery where you can compare recipes by  glancing at the ingredients and prep times. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like BlogLovin, Exercise TV and Any New Books?) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

We all know parents aren’t exactly pros when it comes to dealing with new technology. It took my mom two years to learn how to watch a recorded show off the DVR (I’m pretty sure she still doesn’t know how to actually record anything), and my dad constantly refers to Facebook as “Face-Space”. I’m actually pretty amazed that either of them even knows how to send a text!

That’s why I’ve been loving the site When Parents Text lately — it’s sort of like Texts From Last Night, but instead of random messages about last night’s escapades, each post features a text sent from a reader’s parent (or sometimes a grandparent). They’re all hilarious and filled with the awkward lack of technological and social knowledge that all parents possess. Some of my favorites: “twitter? thats the same thing as quidditch right?” and “Hi leah. Am at a friend’s and he let me get face book. Would you like to be my friend? Dad xoxo” and “Please dont mention on facebook or to your friends we are gone. Do not want to get robbed. Xoxo.”

Read More »

"Skinny arm!"

[Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? A really rad singer? A wicked new book? The best makeup of all time? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com or tweet me and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, every week. Make your kindergarten teacher proud and share!]

There isn’t much to say about Sushi With My Girls. To be In The Know about it, is to read it. You will either agree that it’s pretty amazing or you’ll know someone who would agree it’s pretty amazing.

I mean even Khloe Kardashian Tweeted about it. If my favorite still-not-sure-why-they’re-famous-but-I-love-them-anyway sister thinks this little site is worthy of a Tweet, obvi it’s worthy of our time.

I refuse to give anything away about this site (don’t want to ruin the moment for you), but I will venture to say that most girls, and not just the Jewish/East Coast girls this site tends to poke fun at – can relate to a few of these “Sushi Girl” qualifications. I related to about 90%. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Spreezio, Teach Parents Tech and We Are Hunted) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

If you’re an avid reader and book-lover like I am, your bookshelf is probably crammed with dozens of books. Mine is filled with several of my favorites, of course, but also dozens of old textbooks and cheap paperbacks I have never even opened probably won’t ever read again. Books that have been packed and moved and unpacked 6 times in the last 4 years. In my never-ending quest to get organized (and spend less money on moving boxes), I’ve decided to do something about all the books that I don’t use and are just sitting there collecting dust.

Of course I considered selling them or donating them, but I’ve discovered something better: swapping them.

PaperBackSwap is an online “book club,” where members can exchange books they’ve already read with other members. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like GoFobo, Sparked and Spreezio) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Going home for the holidays is always great…at first. Then your mom warms up to your presence and seizes the opportunity to ask you every technological question she’s ever had. “How do I use the DVR,” and “Can you show me how to crop Dad out of my Facebook photo,” and “Nanny wants all the new landscaping photos, is it possible to get them off of my phone and into an e-mail?” It’s tiresome and it’s frustrating and it usually ends with you and/or your mom crying.

So Google has come up with another genius invention (as if Gchat wasn’t enough) called Teach Parents Tech. They’ve created several easy-to-understand videos for parents on the most basic web concepts. They have everything covered from “copy and paste” to “uploading photos.” Seriously, it’s like someone transcribed the cell phone convos I have with my mom (that usually end with me throwing my phone at the wall in frustration – I mean, how many times have I showed this to you!?). Read More »

The following is a guest post by our (nerdy yet totally helpful) friends at Hack College. Check ‘em out for all your techy needs. They’re like the nerdy boyfriend you never had but always needed.

In case your campus missed out on likealittle.com‘s viral explosion during your finals, you should probably check it out once everyone gets back to school and the hormones start raging.  The amusing service allows anybody to flirt anonymously from across the room.  You simply say where you are on campus, your target’s hair color and gender, and a flirty message.  The publicly available flirts become an incredibly amusing Twitter-like list for all to enjoy. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like Elfster, FashionStake, and GoFobo) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

There are only a few short weeks left until Christmas, and some of you are probably either still stressing out about finals, finishing up grad school applications, or trying to finish buying gifts. It’s so easy to get caught up in our own problems that sometimes we can forget about other people. The holiday season is a great time to think about what you can do to help others and consider giving back to the community.

One great way to give back is through volunteering.
Love the idea of volunteering, but think you’re just too busy?

Think again.

How many hours a day do you spend on the internet, browsing Facebook, watching funny YouTube videos, and reading CollegeCandy? Sparked lets you put some of that time to good use. Read More »

[There are over 100 million sites on the Internet. 100 million! You might think you know about all the important ones (CollegeCandy, Gmail, Google, Facebook…), but there are thousands of other sweet sites out there (like FashionStake, GoFobo and CourseRank) and more showing up every day! We get it – it’s not easy or fun sifting through the crap and porn to find those gems, so we’re gonna bring the gems to you. Just sit back, kick up those feet and allow us to introduce you to the diamonds in the internet rough.]

Do you have a large group of friends you want to buy gifts for this holiday season, but lack the cash to get a great gift for each of them? (Editor’s Note: Story of my life, people. It’s hard being this popular!) Secret Santa gift exchanges are a fun solution!

If you’re not familiar with Secret Santa (also called Pollyanna or Kris Kringle), it’s a type of gift exchange where everyone in a group draws the name of someone else to purchase a gift for, instead of each person having to buy multiple gifts.

Elfster makes planning a Secret Santa exchange so much easier! To use Elfster to plan your Secret Santa, get started by registering for the site.  Once you do that,  create your gift exchange by filling out the name and description of the exchange, setting a spending limit (optional), and setting dates for signing up and exchanging gifts.  Then, use the site to send your friends an invitation e-mail to sign up and join your Secret Santa! Read More »